BY Armin

HP Called, it Wants its Logo Back

In August of 2008 we reported on HP (Hewlett-Packard) shedding its rectangle for a simple circle shape. I am happy to report that we now know HP’s rectangle was found by AJC, the online edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Apparently, the AJC can’t seem to figure out an original logo, as the old one was reminiscent of another bastion of online news, the A.V. Club, and while I’m not one to typically say “this logo reminds of…” I think it’s worth pointing out here because this logo could be something unique: The lowercase “ajc” letters provide a great set of letterforms to work with and it’s a shame that all they can do is select something from the Font menu and put it in a generic holding shape.

Thanks to Junghoon Park for the tip.

DATE: Feb.09.2009CATEGORY: Media 30 COMMENTS

Mohamed Abbas’s comment is:

Are they joking?!?!?!

On Feb.09.2009 at 09:08 AM

Jeff’s comment is:

Glad you guys picked this up. That logo is hilarious.

On Feb.09.2009 at 09:39 AM

Kevin Zwirble’s comment is:

They seemed to have picked up HP's color-scheme as well.

Although I can see how this could be an update of their old logo with the circle surrounding the type, that still doesn't justify it.

Maybe they could use Quark's logo as well?

On Feb.09.2009 at 09:57 AM

b/’s comment is:

Classic AJC. I've got friends that work for them who are brilliant, but as a whole they don't always make the best decisions, but I guess that goes without saying for any organization. We don't call it the "Atlanta Urinal and Constipation" for just anything.

On Feb.09.2009 at 10:00 AM

jRod’s comment is:

What is this "Quark" you speak of?

Yeah, i think that they should have kept what they had. It was much more striking and memorable...

On Feb.09.2009 at 10:45 AM

Josh’s comment is:

This bothers me the least of the most recent updates.

On Feb.09.2009 at 11:03 AM

skeptic_designer’s comment is:

It doesn't at all say 'News' to me. Looks like they're trying to sell diapers to busy, frantic moms.

On Feb.09.2009 at 11:39 AM

Mr EvilEric’s comment is:

Is this consider copying, modification or creative?

On Feb.09.2009 at 11:40 AM

Brandon Cox’s comment is:

Wow, if they just italicized the font, it would be a dead ringer - good find - an obvious "borrowing" taking place.

On Feb.09.2009 at 12:10 PM

damon’s comment is:

beyond the HP rip off, the typeface isn't right at all.

On Feb.09.2009 at 12:23 PM

crank’s comment is:

But it's not even a good rip off. Look at that "LOGO" what is it saying? anything? nothing? everything?

total and utter GARBAGE.

check out their website too. Even worse.

On Feb.09.2009 at 01:08 PM

Jonathan’s comment is:

Definitely doesn't look like news. Terrible color scheme, looks like weather, or lotion. So much opportunity there with those characters....

FAIL! 3/3 - Armin, please post something positive.
PS - Nice work on the Layer Tennis. I really enjoyed your map overlaying!

On Feb.09.2009 at 02:29 PM

lucid’s comment is:

anemic- no life or energy. Probably paid at least $100,000 for this one, for $125,000 they could have upgraded to the real logo package!

On Feb.09.2009 at 02:36 PM

jean claude vanMammal’s comment is:

i love ajc!

they make great printers and ok laptops. their commercial with "diddy" was awesome. you know the one where he is talking about his wife beyonce and folding those cards down in 3d and talking about his snowboarding career? that commercial is so cool.
do they still have intel inside?

On Feb.09.2009 at 03:24 PM

Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:

I liked the "Before" better...

On Feb.09.2009 at 03:34 PM

Mark’s comment is:

What the #%@&?

what in the world it looks like a ripoff logo,what the heck was wrong with the old one IT LOOKED FINE!

On Feb.09.2009 at 03:58 PM

Serviceburo’s comment is:

This is the second major newspaper that I've seen redo their CI package in the last couple of weeks. Perhaps no one has figured out that newspapers are dying because the are an obsolete content delivery method, not because they don't have snappy logotype with slab serifs and ball terminals.

On Feb.09.2009 at 04:32 PM

Paul Ducco’s comment is:

That is insane.

On Feb.09.2009 at 04:40 PM

Hibryd’s comment is:

>What is this "Quark" you speak of?

Gather round, children, and ye shall hear of the Quark Ages. A dark time, it was. You had to zoom all the way in to set a guide precisely, save pictures at 72 dpi to get a decent preview image, resize pictures by typing in numbers, and everyone was at the mercy of the fickle font gods. We didn't have Outline Fonts! Nay! You could convert them to a box, but it didn't do a very good job. And you were lucky if you got one undo!

Aye, those were unfortunate days. We made it through, though. And legend has it that Quark is still out there, desperately adding the features it should have had 5 years ago, still trying to hang onto its market share. But it may be TOO LATE.

On Feb.09.2009 at 04:49 PM

Reed Reibstein’s comment is:

The Web logo may not be anything special, but it's part of what looks to be quite a terrific redesign of the print edition coming in March by Lucie Lacava. Take a look at some early prototypes here. It's probably set in Christian Schwartz's Publico, the main typeface of the redesign, so I think "selecting something from the Font menu" is needlessly harsh. At least the "ajc" fits with the larger section branding I've posted below:

On Feb.09.2009 at 04:55 PM

Ryan’s comment is:

I'm now ashamed to live in Atlanta....

On Feb.09.2009 at 05:10 PM

Ricardo Pitanga’s comment is:

Could we see some GOOD re-brand cases? Im done with this poor re-brands...

On Feb.09.2009 at 05:41 PM

Matheus’s comment is:

I couldn't agree more with Ricardo (in top of this). Could we skip the re-brandings made by the 14 year'old children of the company's owner?

We already can't take the shit that Pentagram and Wolff Ollins dump on the streets every month, it's too much crap

On Feb.09.2009 at 09:24 PM

J.S’s comment is:

it's not a rip off of HP's old logo. if you all actually looked at logos more than just on this website and on what you purchase you might begin to develop a little perspective. there's a billion logos like this. it's not a rip off.

On Feb.10.2009 at 12:15 AM

ActualDesign’s comment is:

Lucid thinks they paid for that logo.. That would be just sad, but no. Pretty sure it was just an internal developer that knows photoshop, which is the standard for their design department. I used to work with them.

On Feb.10.2009 at 10:21 AM

BlissDesign’s comment is:

Go back to the old - its far more iconic.

On Feb.12.2009 at 04:15 PM

b.r.o.o.d.y.’s comment is:

Not that the original was too memorable to begin with but... Too bad. Downgrade confirmed.

On Feb.14.2009 at 06:26 PM

Mongoose’s comment is:

The HP logo first sprung to mind indeed, and the soft blue color really isn't suited for this use at all. Sky & sea blue is hard to pull off without an air of softness and/or femininity, and this fails to now look like a solid news production.

Neither of these are particularly exciting, but the old one did have a little bit of solidity to it.

D+ for, as Armin said, HP echoes and 'ajc' totally wasted.

--Mongoose

On Feb.16.2009 at 11:52 PM

the macho man’s comment is:

Since I live 2 and a half hours out of Atlanta, this makes Georgia look like that south Georgia rednecks did that logo change.

The navy blue circle was an icon in ATL- and now they are gonna replace it with Kansas City Royals colors? If I was HP I would sue.

How will that logo look like at Sanford Stadium at the Georgia games? I didn't know HP sponsored the Georgia Bulldogs!!!

On Feb.19.2009 at 06:46 PM

Randy Hill’s comment is:

Absolutely, incredibly horrible. Looks like something that would be on a brand X kitchen cleaner.

On Feb.20.2009 at 03:26 PM